Wrapping or unwrapping apparatus



Dec. 10, 1957 N. AH. CUR-riss ET AL WRAPPING OR UNWRAPPING APPARATUS 4Sheets-Sheet l Filed Ocb. l5, 1953 IN V EN TORS www AT TORNEY Dec. l0,1957 N. H. CURTISS ETAL WRAPPING 0R UNWRAPPING APPARATUS A TTORNEYFailed oct. 15, 195s Dem im, 1957 N. H. CUR-riss ET AL 2,815,638

WRAPPING OR UNWRAPPING APPARATUS Filed 001;, 15, 1953 4 SheeLS-Sheera 3l l O ATTORNEY Dec. l0, 1957 N. H. CUR-russ ET AL 2,815,638

WRAPPING OR UNWRAPPING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 15, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4ATTORNEY United States Patent O 29,815,63s` v A v WRAPPINC on UNWRAPPINGAPPARATUS Nathaniel H." Curtiss andfnranknn BT. Marek, Clifton, N. J.,assignors to Ullited'` States Rubber Company, New York', N.v Y., acorporation of New .lersey Application octob'er'ls, 1953, serial No.386,3441 10y ciaims. (c1. s11) V,This invention Arelates to wrapping orunwrappinggapparatus, and inparticular it relates yto` `an apparatusiorapplying a narrow strip such as a tape to, and removing such a `tapefrom, an elongated member such as Iamandrel in a helical winding whichencloses the mandrel within acasingofthetape. s

In the rubber industry articles such as hoses are. commonly formed byextruding vrubber or similarl material, about an elongated cylindricalrod as a core to form lengths of the u ncured hose on the` mandrel.Before these mandrcls containing the extruded stock are inserted in avulcanizer Vto cure thehose thereon, thev hose is ,commonly wrappedtightly on the mandrel by winding astrip oftape, such as cloth or thelike, of a width in the orderJ ofl 01.' inches about the .Stock `,0x11themandrel in an Overlapping helical winding to completely enclose theuncured stock within a jacket of this tape. t v.

After the hose has beencured, thetape VWrapping is removed so `that,the` hose may be removed from .the mandrel. Various' apparatus vhavebeen proposed heretofore to perform lthe voperationsof winding andunwinding these narrow tapes on al mandrel. vBut theseapparatus havegenerally provedv unsatisfactory, particularly' he removes thetape,gathers it in bunches. Y Consequently` these tapes, which are reusedmany times, must bercwound after each use 4into a neat roll before itcan be reapplled to a new mandrel in an economicallmanner. MEurthermore, this manual rtape `removal operation requires the use.

of many workmen to unwrap the manylengths of hose which are producedeachday Ain a modern factory. s

Itis anobject'of this inventionto,provideapparatus for unwindingstripsLsuch as the tapes heretofore described, from helicalwindingsabout elongated objects,such` as the windings on hosey `mandrelsof thev type nheretofore de` i scribed, which will removethese` tapesrapidly andefiiciently. It is a further object of invention ,to providean unwrapping means of the type heretofore described which will windthe' tape as itis removed from themandrel in a neat packageI inacondition .to be reused immediately tofwrap further mandrelsfwithoutl`the necessity ffor rewinding the tape; AA furtheruobjectr ofthisinventionfis to provide apparatus of the type described which may beusedeither t Wind Orlfunwlidatapebn. amslidflin vention will l*beapparent from the following ydetailed description thereof and will bepointed' out more fully hereinafter.' Y A r y i In accordance withthisinvention la rotatable wrapping 2,815,638 Patented Dec. 10, 1957 face 2'therethrough through which a mandrelmayhe advanced longitudinally alongthe axis of rotation of the head. `This rotatable wrapping head carries4tape receiving means thereonwhich are rotated planetarily bythewrapping head about a mandrel as it passes axiallyrthroughrthe wrapping,head. The, wrapping head is constructed so that a tape may be ledbetween the mandrel and the tape receiving means in a manner to removethetape from or tof apply it to the mandrel in a helical winding. The

arid unwrappinghed is provided'having :axial openingf'" means wherebythetape is led from the mandrel to the tape receiving means for theunwrapping operationis constructed and arranged such that the tape isled tothe tape receiving means in a manner to be wound in a neatpackage'thereon.` A

Means are provided in conjunction Vwiththe, Wrapping head to advance themandrel longitudinally throughthe centen of the wrapping head as thewrapping head rotates. Additional means are provided to coordinate *thelspeed of the mandrel advancing means with the rotational speed of-theWrappinghead so that a helical wrapping of any given, pitch'angle may beapplied to or removedfrom a mandrel. Since the helical winding isapplied to the mandrel with a constant pitch angle, it will beappreciated that the speed of rotation of the wrapping head must bear aconstantv relationship to .the speed of ,advance of the mandrel throughthe wrapping head. Furthermore since each revolution of the wrappinghead will remove aconstant-linear dimension of the tape from Ysuchravllelical winding. having a constant pitch angle;` means must beprovided which will receive this constant linear dimension of tape fromthe mandrel. However, since it is desired to wrap this tape neatly inythe form of a roll on a spool or thelike, it will be appreciated that.as -this.rollA grows in diameter, each revolution of the spool will takeup a progressively increasing linear dimension of tape. Accordingly, anovel and highly etlicient means are provided to drive the tapereceiving means which will rotatethis tape receiving means at aprogressively lesser `rotational -speed as the tape roll growsthereon,whichrotational speed iscoordinated with and controlledby Athe.length .of tape which is removed from the mandrel. Y vIn thismanner thetape receiving spindle is driven at suchaspcedthat the ,tape which isremoved from thev mandrel is. wound neatly and tightly thereon inacondition to be reused `immediately to wrap further mandrels. .i

`When a helical winding ofthe type lheretofore described is removed froma mandrel by al head which rotates about the mandrel, the tape. willtend to assume a position von a winding spindle which coincides with theposition which it had on the mandrel, i.'e. itl will tend to wrap' thewinding spindle ina helical wrapping." However When such tape is to bereused to wrap'additional spindles it is desirable that the tape bewound in a substantially cylindrical package on aspool or the like sothat each succeeding winding overlies the other windings already on thespool. In accordance with this )invention means are provided fordirecting the tape yfrom the mandrel to the winding spindle in a mannersuch that it.will be wound on the spindle in a neat cylindrical package.

For a better understanding of the vnature of this invention, 'referenceshould be had to the following .detailed description of one specificembodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein: Figyl is a side elevational view partly broken awayof one embodiment of apparatus according to this invention; Fig. '2 is atop plan view of the apparatus for advancing a mandrel at the wrappingfeed end of the embodiment shown in Fig. l; s' 1 Fig. 3 is a verticalcross-sectional View ofthe wrapping head of the embodiment of thisinvention shown in Figfl;

wrapping operation along the line 4 4 of the embodiment of thisinvention shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a top plan View of the mandrel advancing means at theunwrapping feed end of the embodiment of this invention shown in Fig. l.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to Fig. 1 thereof, thereis shown an embodiment of this invention in apparatus for wrapping andunwrapping mandrels such as a mandrel carrying an uncured length ofrubber hose thereon as heretofore described. This apparatus cornprisesgenerally a wrapping head 16 for Wrapping a tape of cloth or the likeupon, and unwrapping the tape from, a mandrel having a length of hose Hthereon. On opposite sides of the wrapping head and supported on acommon frame F therewith are disposed a mandrel advancing means 11 atthe wrapping feed end of the wrapping head and a mandrel advancing means12 at the unwrapping feed end of the wrapping head. The mandreladvancing means 11, 12 in the embodiment shown in the drawings togetherare adapted to grip and to advance a mandrel H through the center of therotatable wrapping means of the wrapping head 10. The mandrel feed means11, 12 may be driven to advance the mandrel H from left to right or fromright to left, as seen in Fig. 1, through the wrapping head 10 to wrapand unwrap respectively, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, the tapeon the mandrel. As will be pointed out more fully hereinafter therotatable means of the wrapping head carries tape spindles which arerotated planetarily around the hose mandrel H as it advances through thehead 10, so the tape from the supply may be wrapped helically about themandrel H, or may be removed from its helical disposition on thismandrel as the mandrel advances through the head 10.

Mandrel advancing means The mandrel advancing means comprises the heads11 and 12 situated on opposite sides of the wrapping head. Both of theseheads receive their motive power from a common shaft 13 which extendsthe length of the apparatus and is rotatably supported in a bearing 24on the upstanding frame beam 21 of the mandrel advancing head 11, and ina bearing 25 on the upstanding frame beam 22 of the wrapping head 10 andin a bearing 26 on the upstanding plate 23 of the mandrel advancing head12. The shaft 13 may be rotated both clockwise and counterclockwise toadapt the apparatus for both unwrapping and wrapping the mandrel H, andthe shaft 13 may with an idler gear 28 mounted on a stud shaft 29 in asupport 30 on the frame of the apparatus. The idler gear 28 meshes witha second idler gear 28' mounted on a similar stud shaft 29' in a support30'. The idler gear 28 in turn meshes with a gear 18' fixed to the shaft16 on the other side from shaft 16 of the path of mandrel travel throughthe apparatus. Each of these shafts 16, 16', above the gears 18, 18',carries a sleeve such as that shown at 22 rotatably journaled thereonwhich sleeves in turn have the generally L-shaped plates 31, 31 tixedthereon. These plates 31, 31' have journaled therein the shafts 32, 32respectively on which are mounted the rollers 19 and 20 respectively. Atthe lower end of the shaft 32, 32' and at the level of the gears 18,18', the shafts 32, 32' carry gears 33, 33 respectively xed thereto.Intermediate the gears 33 and 18 and meshing therewith, an idler gear 34is mounted on a stud shaft 35 on the L-shaped plate 31. A similar idlergear 34 is similarly mounted on the plate 31' intermediate the gears 18'and 33.

It will therefore be seen that motive power is transmitted from theshaft 13 through the worm 14, worm gear 1S, shaft 16, gear 18, idler 34,gear 33, and shaft 32 to rotate the roller 19. Similarly motive powerwill be transmitted from the shaft 13 through worm 14, worm gear 15,shaft 16, gear 18, idler gears 28 and 28', gear 18', idler gear 34',gear 33' and shaft 32 to rotate the roller 24). It will be noted furtherthat idler gears 28, 28 change the direction of rotation transmitted toroller 20 so that rollers 19 be driven .at different speeds to advancethe mandrel faster or slower, so the tape may be applied to the mandrelin helical wrappings having different pitch angles as will be more fullyexplained hereinafter.

Wrapping feed mandrel advancing head The mandrel advancing head 11 atthe wrapping feed end of the apparatus, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2,is supported in a pair of upstanding beams 21, 21' on opposite sides ofthe path of mandrel travel through the apparatus. Each of the beams 21,21' carries one of the vertical shafts 16, 16' which are rotatablymounted on the beams 21, 21 by straps 17, 17 respectively. The shafts16, 16', through gearing about to be described, rotate the mandreladvancing rollers 19, 2t). Each of these rollers 19, 20 is mounted onthe level of a mandrel opening through the wrapping head 10, and eachhas a pulley-like, V-shaped indentation 27 between its ends to bettergrip and align the mandrel H for movement through the wrapping head. Asshown in Fig. 2, the rollers 19, 20 are movable horizontally towardseach other to the dot-dash position shown in which they grip the mandrelH on opposides sides thereof to advance this mandrel through thewrapping head 10.

The shafts 16, 16 are rotated from the shaft 13 by means of a worm 14ixed to shaft 13 which meshes with a worm gear 15 ixed to the shaft 16.Intermediate its length shaft 16 has Xed thereto a gear 18 which meshesand 20 rotate in opposite directions to advance the mandrel H when it isgripped between them. The gears 18, 18', 28, 28', 34, 34', and 33, 33'are selected of such a size as to rotate the rollers 19, 20 atsubstantially identical peripheral speeds.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the L-shaped plates 31, 31', are provided withthe gear segments 36, 36 respectively on the end of that leg of the Lwhich extends centrally toward the path of mandrel travel through theapparatus. An air cylinder 37 carries a rod 38 having the double rack 39thereon between the plates 31, 31' and meshing with the gear segments36, 36. Therefore if the air cylinder 37 be actuated to move the rod 38to the right as seen in Fig. 2, the plate 31' will be rotatedcounterclockwise by the gear segment 36 and rack 39, and the plate 31will be rotated clockwise by the gear segment 36 and rack 39, toseparate the rollers 19 and 20 which are carried by the other legs ofthe L-shaped members that extend toward the wrapping head. Similarly ifthe air cylinder 37 be actuated to move the rod 38 in the reversedirection, the plates 31, 31' will be rotated to move the rollers 19 and20 toward each other to grip the mandrel H at its sides firmly betweenthem. It will also be noted that by means of the air cylinder 37, therollers 19, 20 can be made to grip mandrels of various diametersl with asubstantially constant pressure so that the rollers 19, 20 may bemaintained in predetermined frictional engagement with mandrels ofvarious sizes; and that by varying the pressure on the cylinder 37 therollers 19, 20 may be made to grip a mandrel more or less rmly toadvance it through the wrapping head without slippage between thesurfaces of the rollers 19, 20 and the mandrel as may be desirable formandrels of different sizes.

Unwrapping feed mandrel advancing means The unwrapping feed mandreladvancing means 12, disposed on the side of the wrapping head 10opposite the mandrel advancing means 11, is best shown in Figs. 1 and 5.In the embodiment there shown, this means comprises an uppercaterpillar-like track 40 and a lower caterpillar-like track 41 which,as shown in Fig. 1, are adapted to grasp the mandrel H between them andto advance this mandrel through the opening in the wrapping head 10 asthese tracks 40, 41 are rotated. t The upper caterpillar-like track 40comprises a pair of leterelly spaced chains42ff`43, The eheinetzlrrinsquan .'huetisrroickef `44 atithar enzd efituea'dveheugragit adialeetitwrapping head. 'lfefalofoh .hgued outer sprlocket 45 spaeedfrornythesprocket 4 111' a directiorr'awy from the wrapping headjlt.:vI'hechainf43 runs on thesimilarly spaced sprockets 146,117.1` AAplurality ofv flatV plates 48 fixed near their ends to the "spacedvchains 42,43jbridge the' distance betv'veenthese` hain's. As best shownfin Fig.'5, each' of" these plates has ajgener'ally- V- shapedindentation '49jdisposed efntraiiy thefeohsothe group of platestbetweenthe'innerfsprocket's `44, 46 and" The upper caterpillar-like track ismounte'dfon )verti-r cally `movable Vcarriage which inthe embodiment;shown in the drawings consists of two vertically spaced somewhatH-shaped plates 54,l 55. The forward leg'sf'of the H-shaped plates 54,55 have axle plates '56, 58, eahexor lowered, and since the'iack on themember 73 meshes with this pinion 78,"*the"'1`1ppecaterpillar-like track40 towhichfthememher, 73 shred Ywill bereaved a distancevertically.whiehfeorrespoudsto .thedistanee through .which theclaterpiliarliketrack 41,is moved. Howeverbecause ofthe..di,spos,i.ton`of ,the ,rack .7:4fontheopposite side of theniuioh7.83 from the raek 7,6.. .the upper .caterpillar-like trackl 4 0 w 1 bemoved in an v opposite directionto that of the lower Caterpillar-liketrack 4.1;. Y

r .It will; therefore be apparent' that the tracks 40, 41v can healigned so thatltheyurhay grip1 amaudrel such as the hose mandrelheretoforedesribed Vfor movement through the;opening iu.V the. wrappinghead. Q nce the Positiouof ,these tracksiias beenadjustedjojmoveamandrel of any giveni'diameter. throu'ghfthe center 'of the opening inthe wrapping,head, 'these tracks will gripjmandrels jfor `advariethrough.th.is.renter .regardless of the size. of the mandrels beanse f or. anygiyenposition of they tracks' each .the .lowerieaterp tendingbetween a leg of the H-shapedplat'e 54 "a nd `v al corresponding leg ofthe "H-shap'ed plate. 55. The ward legs of the H-shaped plates 54,`55have disposed therebetween two similar axle plates 57, 59,. Rotatablymounted in the forward axle plates 5 6, 58 is an.a; tl e` 60,w

saine` distance from ahorizontal planev which is locatedeeptralls/.Lbetvteeu .therulY It will be apparent, further that when theapparatus shown is threaded with a mandrel, theCaterpillar-liketraeks'40, 41 can. be. Separated by lowering larliketrack 4 1 by means of the' air cylinder 81, Tl'iisinl turn through thepinion 7 8 will raise the. upper.- eaterpillarfliketraek '4 0- After a.mandrel `is threaded between these tracks iii/.their V-shaped troughs,thecylinder 8 1 can`,be actuated to `raise the lower cater-...pillar-likeftraek; 41. andousequently to lower the upwhich carriesthe `inner sprockets `44, v46. Rotatably" mounted in the outer axleplates 57, 59 is anl axle ``61 which carries the sprockets 45, 47.. I Y1 The lower caterpillar-like track 41 isrnounted similarly on avertically moveable carriage formed of two vertically., spaced somewhatH-shaped plates 62, 63, having axle plates such as those shown at 64 and65 mounted therebetween to carry the axles 66 and 67 for the sprockets52 and 53.

The caterpillar-like tracks 40, 41 are mountedwon a pair of verticallyextending rods 68, 69 whi ch project' through holes in the generally H-shapedplates 54, 5 5 and 62, 63. These plates have further alignedholestherethrough to receivea drive shaft 70 to be described. As best shownin Fig. 1, the upper caterpillar-like track 40 is mounted for verticalsliding movement on theshafts 68, 69 by means of a sleeve 71 iixedbetween the plates 5455 which sleeve is slidable onthe shaft 68. i Asimilar sleeve similarly mounts the upper caterpillar-like track on -theshaft 69. A second sleeve '72 slidably mounted on the shaft 68 is fixedbetween the somewhat H-shaped plates 62', 63 and mounts the lowercaterpillar-like track 41 on the shaft 68 for vertical sliding movementthereon. A similar sleeve is similarly mounted on the lshaft y69 between`the plates 62, 63. There'is fixed' to the sleeve' 71 a downwardlyextending member 73 which carries a rack 74 on its lower end.v There issimilarly fixed to the sleeve 72 a downwardly extending member whichcarries at its lower end a rack 76. Near the lower ends of the members73 and 75, there is an idler pinion' 77- mounted on a rotatable studshaft 78. Both of the racks 74 and 76 are held in mesh with the idlerpinion 78 by backing rollers 78. The lower caterpillar-'like track 41vhas Aiixed to its supporting structure a plate" 79 through which thecaterpillar-like track 41' is supported and is positioned vertically.Fixed to the lower side of this plate 79,`is a plunger 80 of a pneumaticcylinder 81. The pneumatic cylinder 81 can be actuated to raise or lowerthe plunger 80, 4and consequently to raise or lower the lowercaterpillar-like track 41. From what has been described heretofore itwill be apparent that when the lower caterpillarlike track 41 is` rnovedvertically, it will carry with it the dependingmernber 75 which hasthereon` the rack76 in mesh with the pinion 7 8. Therefore the pinion 78will be tetated as the' lower caterpillar-like track 41 is raisedpercaterpillar-liketrack 40 until the mandrel Vis gripped betweerithesetracks. This mandrel willjbe gripped with aponstant; pressure asdetermined by the pressure in the air eylinder l81, and; themandrelwillbe advancedv through the y v rapping. head by these tracks as they arerotated on 35l their sprokets. t

Tojdrive thecaterpillar-like tracks 40, 4l in the apparatus shown `inthe drawings, theshafts 61, 67 have xed thereto bevel gears82 and 83.respectively. Bevel gear 84 j,o urn alled in the support for the uppercaterpillar-like trackdmeshes `with Vthe bevel gear 82, and a similarbevel gear 854 journalled in the support for the lower caterpillar-liketrack 41 meshes with the` bevel gear 83. Bevel gears 84 'and 85 arerotatably carried in supports 86 and S'ZIreSpectively vwhichare mountedon the supportsfor the upper and lower caterpillar-like tracksrespectively. These supports 826 and 8 7 have journalled therein sleeveswhich are mounted for sliding movement on the upstanding rotatable' studs haft70, but are keyed to this shaft 70 for rotation therewith. Thesesleeves have fixed thereto gears 84 and 85. This shaft 70 carries at itslower end a bevel gear 88 fixed thereto which meshes with a bevel gear89 mounted on a shaft 90 rotatably supported inthe upstanding plate 23fixed to the frame F of the apparatus.

The shaft 90 has xed thereto on its other` end a gear 91 whichmeshes'with a gear 92 fixed to the end of the drive shaft 1 3for themandrel advancing means.

Itwill therefore be evident that as the shaft 13 is rotated power willbe transmitted through the gears92, 91, shaft 90, gear 89, and gear 88'to the shaft 70. From the shaft 70, power will be transmitted throughthe sliding sleeve in support 87, keyed to shaft 70, gear A85, gear. 83andshaft 6 7 to drive the sprockets `supporting the lowercaterpillar-like track41. Similarly power will,b;e transmitted from theshaft 70 to. the sleeve in support `8 6,

gear 84, gear 82 and shaft 61 to drive the sprocketssupportingV theupper caterpillar-like track 40. However, it will be noted that whilegear 84 is above its meshing gear 83, gear is below its meshing gearsothat the caterpillar-like tracks 40 and 41 will be driven in oppositedirections about their sprockets. Therefore, the reaches of thecaterpillar-like tracks 40,41 which are adjacent each other and whichgrip the mandrel will be advanced in the same direction to `movethemandrel through the wrapping head in a direction determinedby thedirection of rotation of shaft 13.

7 Wrapping head The wrapping head of the embodiment of this inventionshown in the drawings is best illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. Referringfirst to Fig. 3, this wrapping head comprises a hollow cylindrical tube93 through the center of which a mandrel, such as the mandrel H carryinga length of rubber hose as heretofore described, is designed to passwhen the device is being used to wrapupon, or unwrap a tape from, themandrel. This hollow tube 93 has fixed thereto at the unwrapping feedmandrel advancing means side thereof a circular plate 94 which has anopening therethrough in alignment with the opening through thecylindrical tube 93. The tube 93 and plate 94 are supported for rotationin the upstanding frame members 22, 22 of the machine by means ofanti-friction bearings 9S. The cylindrical tube 93 has fixed thereon agear 96, which as best shown in Fig. 4, meshes with an idler gear 97fixed to a stud shaft 98 on the frame of the machine.

The idler gear 97 in turn meshes with a driving gear 99l fixed to oneoutput shaft 100 of a Reeves variable speed drive R.

The plate 94 carries a wrapping tape stud shaft or spindle 101 spacedfrom the opening through plate 94 which is adapted to carry a spool oftape such as the cloth tape heretofore generally used to wrap lengths ofrubber hose when these lengths are vulcanized on a mandrel. This studshaft 101 is freely rotatable on the plate 94, but carries a frictionbrake such as the brake 102 which tends to retard rotation of the shaft101 as the tape is pulled from the spool on the stud shaft 101, so thetape is maintained taut on this spool and under tension as it is wrappedon the mandrel. Since this tape supply is supported on the rotatingplate 94, it will be apparent that if a free end of the tape from thissupply is fixed to thel mandrel, then when the mandrel H is advancedthrough the hollow tube 93 while this tube is rotating the tape will beapplied to the mandrel in a helical winding.

112 is held between the plates 110 and 111 in driving relationship tothe shaft 106.'..1`herefore when the cylinder 118 is actuated in thismanner, power will -e transmitted from the shaft 1 06 throughthe clutch107 to the shaft13,`but if plunger 118 is released, ring'112 will slipbetween plates 110y and 1,11. In this manner the shaft 13 can beactuated to drive the mandrel advancing means 11 and 12 asdesiredindependently of the drive to the warpping hea'd,.10.,Furthermore, since the shaft 13 is driven from the variable speed shaftof the variable speed drive R, the rate of mandrel advance may be variedindependently of the rate 'of rotation of the wrapping head to vary thepitch angle of the helically wound tape on the mandrel H or toaccommodateV the device for unwinding tape from mandrels when thetapeson different mandrels have ldifferent pitch'angles. y

Unwrappng take-up control Referring next to Figs. 3 and 4, the rotatingdisk 94 of the wrapping head carriesV a stud shaft or spindle 119 whichis adapted to have wound therearound the tape that is removed from amandrel advancing through the apparatus. 'If it be considered that amandrel having a helically disposed winding of tape thereabouts isadvanced from 'right to left through the cylinder 93 as seen in Fig. 3,it' will be apparent that two problems vimmediately present themselvesif the tape removed from that the effective diameter of the sleeve 120will increase lwitheach wrap of tape which is wound thereabouts.

Means are provided for rotating the hollow tube 93 hence the plate 94simultaneously with the advance of the"l mandrel H through the hollowtube 93. This means consists of a reversible motor 103 having a pinion104 (see Figs. 1 and 2) fixed to its drive shaft. Pinion 104 meshes withgear 105 fixed to shaft 100 of the variable speed drive R. Since thegear 99 is fixed to the opposite end of this input shaft 100 of thedrive R, it will be apparent that the plate 94 will be rotated by themotor 103 at a speed and in a direction determined by the drive of themotor.

The variable speed output shaft 106 of the drive R drives the shaft 13through a clutch 107, gear 108, and a gear 109 fixed to shaft 13. Theclutch 107 provides means for disengaging the drive to the mandreladvancing means so that the head 93, 94 may be rotated without advancingthe mandrel therethrough, for it may be desirable to rotate this headwhile the mandrel is stationary, particularly when the tape is beingthreaded up on the mandrel when a new mandrel is supplied to themachine.

The clutch 167 may be any suitable clutch. In the embodiments shown,this clutch consists of a backing plate 110 (see Fig. 3) fixed to theshaft 106. A friction plate 111 is keyed to the shaft 106 for rotationtherewith and forsliding movement longitudinally thereof. Disposedbetween the plates 110 and 111 is a disk 112 which as shown is bolted tothe ring 113 that is supported on the shaft 106 by means ofanti-friction bearings. Ring 113 carries fixed thereto gear 108 whichdrives the shaft 13. A push plate 114 bears against plate 111, whichpush plate is supported in the movable straps 115 that are pivoted atone end by the bolt 116 to the frame of the machine. The other ends ofthe straps 115 are fixed to a plunger 117 of a pneumatic cylinder 118.It will be apparent that if the pneumatic cylinder .118 is actuated tomove its plunger 117 to the left as viewed in Fig. 3, push plate 114will press against plate 111 so the disk Thisrneans that the shaft 119must be rotated on its axis at progressively slower speeds as thel bodyof tape vis builtup thereon if a neat, tight ta'pe package is to beproduced. ln the apparatus according' to this invention, means, aboutlto be described, a're provided for rotating this shaft'119 at all timesatv afspeed which will accept the tape from the mandrel regardless oftheamount of tape already on the sleeve 120 to build a neat, tight packagethereon.l

Secondly it will be appreciated that from the nature of the helicalwinding on the mandrel the tape as it is unwound from the mandrel willbe disposed at an angle to the axis of the mandrel. If this tape wereled directly to the sleeve 120 which is disposed so that its axis isparallel to that of the mandrel, the tape as it was led on to the sleeve120 would be disposed at an angle to the axis of this sleeve 120. Thismeans that rather than having each succeeding layer of tape wound on thesleeve 120 immediately over the next preceding layer of tape, the tapewould tend to wind helically on the sleeve 120 to wrap the tape thereonin the same manner that the wrapping was disposed on the mandrel. In theapparatus according to this invention, means about to be described, areprovided for winding the tape on the sleeve 120 in a manner such thateach succeeding wrapping of the tape on the sleeve 120 will lie over thenext preceding wrapping to provide a neat spiral winding on the sleeveTo drive the shaft 119 at the proper speed to take up the tape from themandrel at the desired rate, the shaft 119 is rotatably mounted in theplate 94 by means of anti-friction bearing 121. The shaft 119 carries onits other end a pinion 122 fixed thereto. This pinion 122 is in meshwith a set of teeth 123 of a planetary gear 124 having two sets oflteeth. The planetary gear is supported on a plurality of freelyrotatable rollers 125 that are supported on shafts 126 fixed to theplate of the type wherein two friction plates `guiar channel'meinber'133fwhic'h projects outwrdly 94; .hence Igear 1424` isrotatable independentlyuof the wrapping head.' A gear V127 mesheswith-the other'` set of teeth on the planetary gear 124. This gear 127is filled to a shaft128 which is supported in bearings 129 on the-frameworkpof the wrapping head. There is fixed tothe other end oftheshaft 12S-a friction slip clutch 130 the output of which is supplied tothe shaft 128. A gear 131 is fixed to the rotatable tube 93 and mesheswith a gear 132 on the input of 'the slip clutch 130. The slipv.clut'chmay be of any suitable type, and a slip clutch pressed togetherby means of a coil spring is satisfactory. It will be apparent Vfrorntheforegoing that` as the tube 93"is rotatedfthe" gear 131 throughthe"slipf'clutehr"130 and planetarygear 124 tends to drive the'shaf't`11'9to take upathe'jtape on `the mandrel. The arrangement' 'issuch that-the shaft V119 will tend to be'ove'rdriven'and to take up moretape than is unwrap'pd' from the mandrel. Since the slip-.clutch 130 isinterposed in the drive' train to -the `shaft 119, 'thepowrlt'rans'rnitted' tlir'uo'gh "this clutch will be only' that' which'is necessaryfto' 'dr'i've' 'the` VshaftLl .119::at the peripheralspe'e'd which 'is' nece'ssary'to'take upzithe tape' thatis-unwrappe'd'frorn'the" mandrel.' lFrthermore, the frictioriclutch'130' will tend to "drive 'the shaft 1119' at such a speed thatthet'ap''i's maintained nd'er tension as it `is woundon the'sleeve"'120,"so'` thata tightV package will beV built'up' onthis'sleeve'.u It'will'be'nted further' that because ofA the' drive'ltrainem'ployfedin 'the emb'odiments shown, i. e. the take-upspindle'driv'e''from the planetary gear 124` while th'e"inp`1'1't4 tothe'pla'rieta'ryy gearV 124d is taken from 'the' olitput shaft of theAslip'elut'c'h 13 "0', the, amount 'of' slippage required' in "the slipel'u'tch, hence the powerco'nsumed'in the slip clutch andthe" si'ze oflth'e slip `cl uteh,'is'maintained small. fl`hlis"'in' 'one practicalembhdir'n'ent'of'this invention, it 'hasbeen 'found planetary gea'rfi'n'th'e r'na'rir'ier shown, 'thefrotationalfsp'eed ofthe shaft 1119t nyvaryv from 80 tot 900K'. P.'Mi"d`l`1`r ing one windin'g'operatio'n whilethe i'otatiohalfspeed'bf th output shaft *12's bf thesiipclutchSim/swing-sary1` between -l200 and`1800 R. P. M. Thus by "a'decrease inl Rre'rringnexrib Figs, 1 anda, there is-sirstfm meansSleeve-120 sdtht this tapd'will"be'whdbn'the 'sleeve lill'in asubstantially 'annular packa'gera'ther' 'than' a helical wrappinga,'Ihere yis-iixed to the plate 94 a rig'htanfr'the'pl'te' a substantialdistance as'shown'; This right-angiil'a'r 'member'133 provides'achannelinwhieh the n'and'r'el' H'is supported against bending by'the'lforce exerted on' thew wrapping tape'as it'is pulledffro'itthe aseutv'v'falyprojecting 16g .133" er this: channel A133" "atthe"baseofdhechannel, and thence 'over'an' elongated pin 13'4 kwhich"pr'ojeets outwardly `a substantial' distance p from th'efae'e oftheplate 94`^`in the directibnandparallel .A Fromithe pin 136`the tape isled tothe' sleeve 120 on lthe take-up spindle 119.` If`Figs. 1 'and 4ofthe' 'drawing vare referred to, it will be apparentthat"as"the"tap`T'is led from the mandrel Hjand over the rod 134, it maytape' von the mandrel.' However, becau'se 'of 'the 'angiilr dispositionof the' rod 135 with'res'pect to 'the rod 13vfit will be apparent thatregardless* of thedispositionfofl'the tape on the rod 134longitudinallythereof, the ta'k fwill be led about the `rod 135 in a x'edpositionlater'ally'r'of the "'pin'135 as' shown'in Fi'g.'l althijilgh itrnay'as's'iim'e various positionslongit'uvdinally lof this 'pin'.Siniilarl'y the tape as it leaves' the'rod l1.35""wil1,befdirecitedtofthe yrfid 136'in'a tix'ed plane longitudinally'of rod 136 'regardlessor the posiiiobftiie tape 'irfgrfuaiifauy bri: the rodA 13s. In' thismanner, Ythe 'tap'eT ijs'alwaysy led about Athe'rod 136 n'a'iXed-position'longitiidinally ofthe 'rod 136 'which position isdeter'rniiiedfby the' 'spacing' ofthe rod 1,35 from the surface of the'plate 94'." Since,the'ta'pe'Tlis'led` alio'pt thegrod 136 in 'a exeapsiariiiqngtmdinsi1'y thereof, it will be wound' ori'the' sleeve'12llfnfthe spindle I11-9I'i1i`a 'tixd' positionflongitudinally 'of' the`spirit/116119 "because they axis' of 'this 'spindle is parallelto theaxis 'of the rod 136,." Conseqently the 'tape"will bewoun'd on' the'sleeve ""i1 1` a neatpackag'eso that'itmy be transferred to'a windingspindlew V`to"w'rap an nwou'nd' mandrel' with''ut rewinding the' 'tape"package:I

It is believed: theope'rationvof'thedevice will'be appreht'froin the'foregoingw To'wrap la mandrel" 'such as awmandrel tcontaining a length'ofun'cured` rubber'hose witha tape 1of fabric:v o r the like priorI to`vulcani'zing'the hose, the "mandrel'rH" is^inserted through the'wrapping feed mandreladvancing means'A 11 and throughthecylindrical'ftub'ei'93rand plate '94"torestin the chann1el133".

A sleeve 'off/tape' is disposed on'th'e spindle 101 vand'fthetapeftherefrom' may conver'iientlyfbe' led" 'over the" pins 136, 135,134'and`und'e thechan'nel 133and'th'readed aboutV the uncured Ihoseonith'e'rnadre'l 'H` 'as Y'heretofore -,de`scribe`d." Thereafter,witlrtheclutchitw open: sothat theg'in'andr'el is not' advanced.'through- 'the' `wrappifngfhead 10," theewrapping'fhead 'may fberotatedto'` place' 'a few tanchoringwra'psfonv themandre'l'H. l Cylinder37 has-been l 'actuated'roiclo'se theirollersI `19,20"t'otgripthemandrel'H mhetwen'fthem'f Clutch-107' is then 'closed'todrive `theshaft1`3-to advancethe'fmandrel H through the wrapping h'eadfvfromtleftto 'right asV seerrimFig.A 1.` As y the plate 94rotates-and-themjand'rel Hadvances theftapewi'llbe wonnd'onfthem'andrel helicallyto 'enclose 'the uncured irubbeitherewitliiri'.V When theend` of thelman'drelhas advanced lto a po'sition 'betweemthe' tracks `40,y 41,` thecylinder 81''isact'uated to close these Itracks laboutV the mandrelso"that.they"mayassist the rollers 19, 20 to advance` the -rn'aridrel`through'the 'wrapping head. The' op- Aeration iscontinued until' the'mandrel H hasa'dvanced conlpletelyhthroghvthe wrapping `head* andthehose is `completelyWra'pped'inthe tape.' 'If desired, near'the' endof-th'e 'mandrel the 'cltch"107' may be' disengagedwhiletheplate"94"continues"to rotate, to' wrap' a few binding tu'isofthetape'on'the inandrel Thereafter, Athemandlelis re'a'dyfto-'beplaced'in the vulcanizer;

To'unwrap atapefrommandrel `containing'the curedrubber'-hose,a'fnandrelH"is 'led l'aet'ween' the' tracks, 40, '41'andlsupportedc'in' the' channel 133': The cylinder" 81 *isjactuated'to= closet thez tracks 40,41' on" the' mandrel 'as heretofore.'desc'ribed. The tape T is unwmndL from, the mandrel'Hsuicientlysoth'atza length'may bev led under theprojecti'on lNHL-'over the piny'134" througha quarter turn and ov'e'r the pini 135,' 'thr'o'u'ghlarltherA quarterl turn f fandov'e'r `the pini "1365 and thenaboiit' the'sleeve' 121i Ton the take-'lipspindl119 Ilf-a fewbindingwrappingsemaironi'thespin'dle H, 'the inof'tor`103 may' begactuated 11. v 103 is thusactuated, the tube 93 and 'plate 94 will rotate in a direction to removethe wrappings from the mandrel H. However, since the clutch 107 is notactuated, the mandrel H will not advance through the wrapping head. Whenthe binding wrappings have been removed from the mandrel H, the clutch107 is actuated to commence the advance of the mandrel H through theplate 94 so that the helical windings will be unwrapped from the mandrelH. In this respect it will be noted that the pin 134 is of substantiallength in its projection from the plate 94. This provides some leewayfor the actuation of the clutch 107 because some of the helicalwrappings may actually be removed before this clutch is actuated yet thepin 134 is of sufficient length that the unwrapping does not proceedbeyond the end thereof. With the clutch 107 operative, the mandrel Hwill be advanced through the wrapping head to unwrap the tape from themandrel H and to wrap this tape in a neat package on the spindle 119.When the mandrel has advanced sufficiently through the wrapping head 10,the cylinder 37 may be actuated so the rollers 19, 2t) grip the mandrelH to assist the tracks 40, 41 in advancing the mandrel through thewrapping head 10. The operation continues until the mandrel H has beenadvanced through the wrapping head 10 and until all of the helicalwindings of the tape T have been unwound from the mandrel H.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

1. In apparatus for winding strips on and unwinding strips from anelongated member, the combination which comprises a rotatable head,gripping means for gripping said elongated member, pneumatic meansyieldingly urging said gripping means into gripping position, means fordriving said gripping means to advance said elongated member throughsaid head, strip carrying means on said rotatable head, and means forcoordinating the rotational speed of said head with said driving means.

2. In apparatus for winding strips on and unwinding strips from anelongated member, the combination which comprises a rotatable head,vertically movable gripping means for gripping said elongated memberpositionable above and below said elongated member, pneumatic meansyieldingly urging said gripping means into gripping position,positioning means for said vertically movable gripping means adapted tomove said vertically positionable means towards opposite sides of saidelongated member simultaneously, means for driving said gripping meansto advance said elongated member through said head, strip carrying meanson said rotatable head, and means for coordinating the rotational speedof said head with the driving means for said elongated member.

3. In apparatus for winding strips on and unwinding strips from anelongated member, the combination which comprises a rotatable head,gripping means on one side of said head for gripping said elongatedmember above and below said elongated member, gripping means on theother side of said head for gripping said elongated member on oppositesides of said elongated member, pneumatic means for each of saidgripping means yieldingly urging said gripping means into grippingposition, a support carried by said rotatable head to receive saidelongated member as it is advanced therethrough and about which saidstrip may be led, strip carrying means on said rotatable head, means fordriving both of said gripping means to advance said elongated memberthrough said head, and means for coordinating the rotational speed ofsaid head with the driving means for said gripping means.

4. In apparatus for winding strips on and unwinding strips from anelongated member, means for advancing an elongated member through arotatable wrapping head which comprises a pair of caterpillar-liketracks, one of said tracks being positionable above said elongatedmember and the other of said tracks being positionable below saidelongated member, a rack xed to each of said tracks, a pinion meshingwith bothof said racks, said racks being disposed on opposite sides ofthe axis of said pinion, and means for moving one of saidcaterpillar-like tracks toward and away from the elongated member,whereby said other track will be moved toward and away from saidelongated member in coordination with the other track to grip saidelongated member in a fixed position vertically.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 wherein a pair of horizontallymovable gripping rollers are positioned on the other side of the head,means for moving said gripping rollers toward said elongated membersimultaneously to grip the sides ofthe elongated member on oppositesides thereof, and means for driving said rollers in conjunction withsaid tracks.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 including a support for saidelongated member on the rotatable head, said support being rotatableabout said member with said head.

7. Apparatus for unwrapping tapes from mandrels, which comprises arotatable head, a tape receiving shaft carried by said rotatable head,means for rotating said head, means for advancing a mandrel through saidhead, said tape receiving shaft having its axis substantially parallelto the axis of said mandrel, an elongated pin projecting from said headhaving its axis disposed substantially parallel to the axis of saidmandrel, a second elongated pin on said head having its axis disposed atsubstantially right angles to the axis of said first pin, a third pinprojecting from said head having its axis disposed substantiallyparallel to the axis of said mandrel whereby the tape may be led fromsaid mandrel about said rst pin thence through a quarter turn about saidsecond pin thence about said third pin to said take-up shaft, and meansfor driving said take-up shaft coordinated with said head rotating meansto receive the tape at substantially the speed that it is removed fromsaid elongated member and to dispose it on said tape receiving means totake-up substantially the same linear length of tape that is removedfrom said elongated member by each rotation of said head.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7, wherein said rotatable headcarries a support projecting therefrom for said elongated member aboutwhich said strip is led before it passes through said pins.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 wherein said rotatable headincludes a plate having an axial opening therein through which saidelongated member is advanced, and wherein said plate carries said pinsand said take-up spindle.

10. A method for unwrapping strips from elongated members whichcomprises in combination, advancing an elongated member having anelongated strip wrapped thereabout through a rotatable head, rotatingsaid head while said elongated member is advanced therethrough, leadingthe strip from the elongated member about a first pin projecting fromthe head substantially parallel to the axis of the elongated member,leading the elongated strip from the rst pin to a second pin on saidhead disposed at substantially right angles to the axis of the rst pinand turning the strip a quarter turn about its own axis between thefirst and second pin, advancing the strip from the second pin to a thirdpin on said head disposed substantially parallel to the axis of theelongated member and turning the strip a quarter turn about its own axisbetween said second and third pin, advancing the strip from the thirdpin to a strip receiving sleeve having its axis disposed substantiallyparallel to said elongated member, and driving the strip receiving meansat a speed coordinated with the head rotating means to take up the stripat substantially the speed that it is removed from he elongated memberto wind it on `the strip receiving means.

(References on following page) 13 References Cited in the le of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS 275,472 747,876 Fisher Dec. z2, 1903 82,551,220,288 subers Mar. 27, 1917 5 98 93 2,221,555 Reynolds Nov. 12, 1940FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Aug. 11, 1927 Great Britain Nov. 21, 1946Germany Nov. 6, 1940

